NEW DELHI: The rich countries, which were mandated to cut down on their emissions, are instead on an upward curve that could lead the world to tipping point. The global warming causing greenhouse gas emissions of the rich nations have increased by 9.9% between 1990-2006.

Japan's prime minister wants to limit speculative trading in his country's carbon emissions trading scheme, a senior policy negotiator said on Tuesday.

Kunihiko Shimada, principal international policy coordinator for the Ministry of the Environment, said Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said he wants to examine ways of curbing speculative trading in Japan's emissions trading trial scheme.

the following factbox compares international and national goals for fighting climate change ahead of a un meeting in poznan, poland from dec. 1-12.

international targets

the kyoto protocol - binds industrialised nations except the united states to cut emissions on average by at least 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

Rich nations should make the first cuts in greenhouse gases while developing countries carry on business as usual for the time being, according to a plan set out on Monday by a Harvard University project.

This is one of four proposals by the American university's Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs to negotiators who meet for UN climate talks next week in Poland.

Klaus Schwab, now 70 years old, is the brain behind the 37-year-old World Economic Forum. Critics say it is little more than a talk-shop that produces few results. Yet, the delegates of the WEF

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, linking the occasional haze (dubbed as atmospheric brown clouds) over cities in India and other Asian countries with global warming, has raised a controversy that adds a new element to the divide between the developed and developing world on the issue of climate change.

Impatient with the pace of national governments in fighting global climate change, 13 US state governors joined counterparts from six other countries on Wednesday to pledge cooperation to curtail Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

BY JAMES KANTER
Guilty about air travel? Soon you may be flying to Europe with fewer qualms
B y early next decade most of the jets that take off or land from busy airports in cities like London, Paris and Frankfurt will have to comply with European rules on greenhouse gases. The system will include non-European carriers like American Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

By Shankar Sharma

A comparison with the environmental disaster that is facing China is worth making.